Method for controlling a computer with an audio signal

ABSTRACT

A method for controlling a computer by inputting an analog signal into the computer to control a web browser software application. The analog signal contains a trigger signal which activates proprietary software, and a product identifier. The proprietary software launches the web browser application on the computer, extracts the product identifier, and creates an appended data string by appending server address (URL) routing information to the product identifier information. The appended data string is automatically inserted into the web browser as keystroke data and routed to an advertiser reference server. The appended routing information directs communication to the advertiser reference server which contains a cross-referenced database of advertiser product identifier information and associated advertiser server URLs. The advertiser server URL and a request for product information relevant to the product identifier is returned to the computer web browser where it is automatically redirected to the advertiser server containing the advertiser product information. The advertiser product information is then returned to the computer for display.

This application is related to copending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/151,471, entitled, "METHOD FOR INTERFACING SCANNED PRODUCTINFORMATION WITH A SOURCE FOR THE PRODUCT OVER A GLOBAL NETWORK" filedof even date herewith.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to a method of computer control, andparticularly for automatically directing a web browser application onthe computer to retrieve and display information in response to ananalog signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the growing numbers of computer users connecting to the "Internet,"many companies are seeking the substantial commercial opportunitiespresented by such a large user base. For example, one technology whichexists allows a television ("TV") signal to trigger a computer responsein which the consumer will be guided to a personalized web page. Thesource of the triggering signal may be a TV, video tape recorder, orradio. For example, if a viewer is watching a TV program in which anadvertiser offers viewer voting, the advertiser may transmit a uniquesignal within the television signal which controls a program known as a"browser" on the viewer's computer to automatically display theadvertiser's web page. The viewer then simply makes a selection which isthen transmitted back to the advertiser.

In order to provide the viewer with the capability of responding to awide variety of companies using this technology, a database of companyinformation and Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") codes is necessarilymaintained in the viewer's computer, requiring continuous updates. URLsare short strings of data that identify resources on the Internet:documents, images, downloadable files, services, electronic mailboxes,and other resources. URLs make resources available under a variety ofnaming schemes and access methods such as HTTP, FTP, and Internet mail,addressable in the same simple way. URLs reduce the tedium of "login tothis server, then issue this magic command . . . " down to a singleclick. The Internet uses URLs to specify the location of files on otherservers. A URL includes the type of resource being accessed (e.g., Web,gopher, FTP), the address of the server, and the location of the file.The URL can point to any file on any networked computer. Currenttechnology requires the viewer to perform periodic updates to obtain themost current URL database. This aspect of the current technology iscumbersome since the update process requires downloading information tothe viewer's computer. Moreover, the likelihood for error in performingthe update, and the necessity of redoing the update in the event of alater computer crash, further complicates the process. Additionally,current technologies are limited in the number of companies which may bestored in the database. This is a significant limitation since worldwideaccess presented by the Internet and the increasing number of companiesconnecting to perform on-line commerce necessitates a large database.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention disclosed and claimed herein comprises a methodfor retrieving information from a storage region having a definedlocation. A program is broadcasted having embedded therein a routingsignal having routing information contained therein. The routing signalis then extracted from the broadcast. Thereafter, a personal computeriscontrolled to allow a user to retrieve the information from a storageregion at the defined location, which defined location is located withthe extracted routing information, providing it at the personal computerfor use by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the computer components employed in this embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates system interactions over a global network;

FIGS. 4a-4e illustrate the various message packets transmitted betweenthe source PC and network servers used in the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting operation of the system according to thepreferred embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of actions taken by the AdvertiserReference Server ("ARS") server;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of the interactive process between thesource computer and ARS;

FIG. 8 illustrates a web browser page receiving the modifiedURL/advertiser product data according to the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the disclosedembodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a more detailed, simplified block diagram of theembodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 illustrates a diagrammatic view of a method for performing therouting operation;

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodiment utilizingan optical region in the video image for generating the routinginformation;

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram illustrating the generation of aprofile with the disclosed embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart for generating the profile and storingat the ARS; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart for processing the profile informationwhen information is routed to a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of asystem for controlling a personal computer ("PC") 112 via an audio tonetransmitted over a wireless system utilizing a TV. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1, there is provided a transmission station 101 anda receive station 117 that are connected via a communication link 108.The transmission station 101 is comprised of a television program source104, which is operable to generate a program in the form of a broadcastsignal comprised of video and audio. This is transmitted viaconventional techniques along channels in the appropriate frequencies.The program source is input to a mixing device 106, which mixing deviceis operable to mix in an audio signal. This audio signal is derived froman audio source 100 which comprises a coded audio signal which is thenmodulated onto a carrier which is combined with the television programsource 104. This signal combining can be done at the audio level, or itcan even be done at the RF level in the from of a different carrier.However, the preferred method is to merely sum the audio signal from themodulator 102 into the audio channel of the program that is generated bythe television program source 104. The output thereof is provided fromthe mixing device 106 in the form of broadcast signal to an antenna 107,which transmits the information over the communication link 108 to anantenna 109 on the receive side.

On the receive side of the system, a conventional receiver 110, such asa television is provided. This television provides a speaker outputwhich provides the user with an audible signal. This is typicallyassociated with the program. However, the receiver 110 in the disclosedembodiment, also provides an audio output jack, this being the type RCAjack. This jack is utilized to provide an audio output signal on a line113 which is represented by an audio signal 111. This line 113 providesall of the audio that is received over the communication link 108 to thePC 112 in the audio input port on the PC 112. However, it should beunderstood that, although a direct connection is illustrated from thereceiver 110 to the PC 112, there actually could be a microphone pickupat the PC 112 which could pick the audio signal up. In the disclosedembodiment the audio signal generated by the advertiser data inputdevice 100 is audible to the human ear and, therefore, can be heard bythe user. Therefore, no special filters are needed to provide this audioto the PC 112.

The PC 112 is operable to run programs thereon which typically arestored in a program file area 116. These programs can be any type ofprograms such as word processing programs, application programs, etc. Inthe disclosed embodiment, the program that is utilized in the system iswhat is referred to as a "browser." The PC 112 runs a browser program tofacilitate the access of information on the network, for example, aglobal communication network known as the "Internet" or theWorld-Wide-Web ("Web"). The browser is a hypertext-linked applicationused for accessing information. Hypertext is a term used to describe aparticular organization of information within a data processing system,and its presentation to a user. It exploits the computer's ability tolink together information from a wide variety of sources to provide theuser with the ability to explore a particular topic. The traditionalstyle of presentation used in books employs an organization of theinformation which is imposed upon it by limitations of the medium,namely fixed sized, sequential paper pages. Hypertext systems, however,use a large number of units of text or other types of data such as imageinformation, graphical information, video information, or soundinformation, which can vary in size. A collection of such units ofinformation is termed a hypertext document, or where the hypertextdocuments employ information other than text, hypermedia documents.Multimedia communications may use the Hypertext Transfer Protocol("HTTP"), and files or formatted data may use the Hypertext MarkupLanguage ("HTML"). This formatting language provides for a mingling oftext, graphics, sound, video, and hypertext links by "tagging" a textdocument using HTML. Data encoded using HTML is often referred to as an"HTML document," an "HTML page," or a "home page." These documents andother Internet resources may be accessed across the network by means ofa network addressing scheme which uses a locator referred to as aUniform Resource Locator ("URL"), for example, "http://www.digital.com."

The Internet is one of the most utilized networks for interconnectingdistributed computer systems and allows users of these computer systemsto exchange data all over the world. Connected to the Internet are manyprivate networks, for example, corporate or commercial networks.Standard protocols, such as the Transport Control Protocol ("TCP") andthe Internet Protocol ("IP") provide a convenient method forcommunicating across these diverse networks. These protocols dictate howdata are formatted and communicated. As a characteristic of theInternet, the protocols are layered in an IP stack. At higher levels ofthe IP stack, such as the application layer (where HTTP is employed),the user information is more readily visible, while at lower levels,such as the network level (where TCP/IP are used), the data can merelybe observed as packets or a stream of rapidly moving digital signals.Superimposed on the Internet is a standard protocol interface foraccessing Web resources, such servers, files, Web pages, mail messages,and the like. One way that Web resources can be accessed is by browsersmade by Netscape® and Microsoft Internet Explorer®.

Referring again now to FIG. 1, the user can load this program with theappropriate keystrokes such that a browser window will be displayed on adisplay 118. In one embodiment, the user can run the browser program onthe PC 112 such that the browser window is displayed on the display 118.While watching a preferred program, the user can also view display 118.When an audio signal is received by the receiver 110 and the encodedinformation is contained therein that was input thereto by theadvertiser, the PC 112 will then perform a number of operations. Thefirst operation, according to the disclosed embodiment, is to extractthe audio information within the received audio signal in the form ofdigital data, and then transmit this digital data to a defined locationon the global communication network via a modem connection 114. Thisconnection will be described hereinbelow. This information will berelayed to a proprietary location and the instructions sent back to thePC 112 as to the location of the advertiser associated with the code,and the PC 112 will then effect a communication link to that locationsuch that the user can view on the display 118 information that theadvertiser, by the fact of putting the tone onto the broadcast channel,desires the viewer to view. This information can be in the form ofinteractive programs, data files, etc. In one example, when anadvertisement appears on the television, the tone can be generated andthen additional data displayed on the display 118. Additionally, astreaming video program could be played on the PC received over thenetwork, which streaming video program is actually longer than theadvertising segment on the broadcast. Another example would be a sportsgame that would broadcast the tone in order to allow a user access toinformation that is not available over the broadcast network, such asadditional statistics associated with the sports program, etc.

By utilizing the system described herein with respect to the disclosedembodiment of FIG. 1, an advertiser is allowed the ability to control auser's PC 112 through the use of tones embedded within a program audiosignal. As will descried hereinbelow, the disclosed embodiment utilizesparticular routing information stored in the PC 112 which allows theencoded information in the received audio signal to route thisinformation to a desired location on the network and then allow otherrouting information to be returned to the PC 112 for control thereof toroute the PC 112 to the appropriate location associated with that code.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a computer 204, similar tocomputer 112, connected to display information on display 118. Thecomputer 204 comprises an internal audio or "sound" card 206 forreceiving the transmitted audio signal through receive antenna 109 andreceiver 110. The sound card 206 typically contains analog-to-digitalcircuitry for converting the analog audio signal into a digital signal.The digital signal may then be more easily manipulated by softwareprograms. The receiver 110 separates the audio signal from the videosignal. A special trigger signal located within the transmittedadvertiser audio signal triggers proprietary software running on thecomputer 204 which launches a communication application, in thisparticular embodiment, the web browser application located on the PC204. Coded advertiser information contained within the audio signal isthen extracted and appended with the address of a proprietary serverlocated on the communication network. The remote server address is inthe form of a URL. This appended data, in addition to other controlcodes, is inserted directly into the web browser application forautomatic routing to the communication network. The web browser runningon PC 204, and communicating to the network with a through an internalmodem 208, in this embodiment, transmits the advertiser information tothe remote server. The remote server cross-references the advertiserproduct information to the address of the advertiser server located onthe network. The address of the advertiser server is routed back throughthe PC 204 web browser to the advertiser server. The advertiser productinformation is returned to PC 204 to be presented to the viewer ondisplay 118. In this particular embodiment, the particular advertiserproduct information displayed is contained within the advertiser's webpage 212. As mentioned above, the audio signal is audible to the humanear. Therefore the audio signal, as emitted from the TV speakers, may beinput to the sound card 206 via a microphone. Furthermore, the audiosignal need not be a real-time broadcast, but may be on video tapes,CDs, DVD, or other media which may be displayed at a later date. Withthe imminent implementation of high definition digital television, theaudio signal output from the TV may also be digital. Therefore, directinput into a sound card for A/D purposes may not be necessary, butalternative interfacing techniques to accommodate digital-to-digitalsignal formats would apply.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a source PC 302, similarto PCs 204 and 112, connected to a global communication network 306through an interface 304. In this embodiment, the audio signal 111 isreceived by PC 302 through its sound card 206. The audio signal 111comprises a trigger signal which triggers proprietary software intolaunching a web browser application residing on the PC 302. The audiosignal 111 also comprises advertiser product information which isextracted and appended with URL information of an Advertiser ReferenceServer ("ARS") 308. The ARS 308 is a system disposed on the network thatis defined as the location to which data in the audio signal 111 is tobe routed. As such, data in the audio signal 111 will always be routedto the ARS 308, since a URL is unique on the network system. Connectedto the ARS 308 is a database 310 of product codes and associatedmanufacturer URLs. The database 310 undergoes a continual update processwhich is transparent to the user. As companies sign-on, e.g., subscribe,to this technology, manufacturer and product information is added to thedatabase 310 without interrupting operation of the source PC 302 withfrequent updates. When the advertiser server address URL is obtainedfrom the ARS database 310, it and the request for the particularadvertiser product information is automatically routed back through theweb browser on PC 302, over to the respective advertiser server forretrieval of the advertiser product information to the PC 302. It shouldbe noted that although the disclosed invention discusses a globalcommunication network, the system is also applicable to LANs, WANs, andpeer-to-peer network configurations. It should be noted that thedisclosed architecture is not limited to a single source PC 302, but maycomprise a plurality of source PCs, e.g., PC 300 and PC 303. Moreover, aplurality of ARS 308 systems and advertiser servers 312 may beimplemented, e.g., ARS 314, and advertiser server A 316, respectively.

The information transactions, in general, which occur between thenetworked systems of this embodiment, over the communication network,are the following. The web browser running on source PC 302 transmits amessage packet to the ARS 308 over Path "A." The ARS 308 decodes themessage packet and performs a cross-reference function with productinformation extracted from the received message packet to obtain theaddress of an advertiser server 312. A new message packet is assembledcomprising the advertiser server 312 address, and sent back to thesource PC 302 over Path "B." A "handoff" operation is performed wherebythe source PC 302 browser simply reroutes the information on to theadvertiser server 312 over Path "C," with the appropriate source anddestination address appended. The advertiser server 312 receives anddecodes the message packet. Therequest-for-advertiser-product-information is extracted and theadvertiser 312 retrieves the requested information from its database fortransmission back to the source PC 302 over Path "D." The source PC 302then processes the information, i.e., for display to the viewer. Theoptional Path "E" is discussed hereinbelow. It should be noted that thedisclosed methods are not limited to only browser communicationapplications, but may accommodate, with sufficient modifications by oneskilled in the art, other communication applications used to transmitinformation over the Internet or communication network.

Referring now to FIG. 4a, the message packet 400 sent from the source PC302 to ARS 308 via Path "A" comprises several fields. One fieldcomprises the URL of the ARS 308 which indicates where the messagepacket is to be sent. Another field comprises the advertiser productcode or other information derived from the audio signal 111, and anyadditional overhead information required for a given transaction. Theproduct code provides a link to the address of the advertiser server312, located in the database 310. Yet another field comprises thenetwork address of the source PC 302. In general, network transmissionsare effected in packets of information, each packet providing adestination address, a source address, and data. These packets varydepending upon the network transmission protocol utilized forcommunication. Although the protocols utilized in the disclosedembodiment are of a conventional protocol suite commonly known asTCP/IP, it should be understood that any protocols providing the similarbasic functions can be used, with the primary requirement that a browsercan forward the routing information to the desired URL in response tokeystrokes being input to a PC. However, it should be understood thatany protocol can be used, with the primary requirement that a browsercan forward the product information to the desired URL in response tokeystrokes being input to a PC. Within the context of this disclosure,"message packet" shall refer to and comprise the destination URL,product information, and source address, even though more than a singlepacket must be transmitted to effect such a transmission.

Upon receipt of the message packet 400 from source PC 302, ARS 308processes the information in accordance with instructions embedded inthe overhead information. The ARS 308 specifically will extract theproduct code information from the received packet 400 and, onceextracted, will then decode this product code information. Once decoded,this information is then compared with data contained within the ARSadvertiser database 310 to determine if there is a "hit." If there is no"hit" indicating a match, then information is returned to the browserindicating such. If there is a "hit," a packet 402 is assembled whichcomprises the address of the source PC 302, and information instructingthe source PC 302 as to how to access, directly in a "handoff"operation, another location on the network, that of an advertiser server312. This type of construction is relatively conventional with browserssuch as Netscape® and Microsoft Internet Explorer® and, rather thandisplaying information from the ARS 308, the source PC 302 can thenaccess the advertiser server 312. The ARS 308 transmits the packet 402back to source PC 302 over Path "B." Referring now to FIG. 4b, themessage packet 402 comprises the address of the source PC 302, the URLof the advertiser server 312 embedded within instructional code, and theURL of the ARS 308.

Upon receipt of the message packet 402 by the source PC 302, the messagepacket 402 is disassembled to obtain pertinent routing information forassembly of a new message packet 404. The web browser running on sourcePC 302 is now directed to obtain, over Path "C," the product informationrelevant to the particular advertiser server 312 location informationembedded in message packet 404. Referring now to FIG. 4c, the messagepacket 404 for this transaction comprises the URL of the advertiserserver 312, the request-for-product-information data, and the address ofthe source PC 302.

Upon receipt of the message packet 404 from source PC 302, advertiserserver 312 disassembles the message packet 404 to obtain therequest-for-product-information data. The advertiser server 312 thenretrieves the particular product information from its database, andtransmits it over Path "D" back to the source PC 302. Referring now toFIG. 4d, the message packet 406 for this particular transactioncomprises the address of the source PC 302, the requested information,and the URL of the advertiser server 312.

Optionally, the ARS 308 may make a direct request for productinformation over Path "E" to advertiser server 312. In this mode, theARS 308 sends information to the advertiser server 312 instructing it tocontact the source PC 302. This, however, is unconventional and requiresmore complex software control. The message packet 408 for thistransaction is illustrated in FIG. 4e, which comprises the URL of theadvertiser server 312, the request-for-product-information data, and theaddress of the source PC 302. Since product information is not beingreturned to the ARS 308, but directly to the source PC 302, the messagepacket 408 requires the return address to be that of the source PC 302.The product information is then passed directly to PC 302 over Path "D."

Referring now to FIG. 5, the method for detecting and obtaining productinformation is as follows. In decision block 500, a proprietaryapplication running resident on a source computer PC 302 (similar to PC204) monitors the audio input for a special trigger signal. Upondetection of the trigger signal, data following the trigger signal isdecoded for further processing, in function block 502. In function block504, the data is buffered for further manipulation. In decision block506, a determination is made as to whether the data can be properlyauthenticated. If not, program flow continues through the "N" signal tofunction block 520 where the data is discarded. In function block 522,the program then signals for a retransmission of the data. The systemthen waits for the next trigger signal, in decision block 500. Ifproperly authenticated in decision block 506, program flow continuesthrough the "Y" signal path where the data is then used to launch theweb browser application, as indicated in function block 508. In functionblock 510, the web browser receives the URL data, which is thenautomatically routed through the computer modem 208 to the networkinterface 304 and ultimately to the network 306. In function block 514,the ARS 308 responds by returning the URL of advertiser server 312 tothe PC 302.

In function block 516, the web browser running on the source PC 302,receives the advertiser URL information from the ARS 308, and transmitsthe URL for the product file to the advertiser server 312. In block 518,the advertiser server 312 responds by sending the product information tothe source PC 302 for processing.

The user may obtain the benefits of this architecture by simplydownloading the proprietary software over the network. Other methods forobtaining the software are well-known; for example, by CD, diskette, orpre-loaded hard drives.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a flowchart of the processthe ARS 308 may undergo when receiving the message packet 400 from thesource PC 302. In decision block 600, the ARS 308 checks for the receiptof the message packet 400. If a message packet 400 is not received,program flow moves along the "N" path to continue waiting for themessage. If the message packet 400 is received, program flow continuesalong path "Y" for message processing. Upon receipt of the messagepacket 400, in function block 602, the ARS 308 decodes the messagepacket 400. The product code is then extracted independently in functionblock 604 in preparation for matching the product code with theappropriate advertiser server address located in the database 310. Infunction block 606, the product code is then used with a look-up tableto retrieve the advertiser server 312 URL of the respective productinformation contained in the audio signal data. In function block 608,the ARS 308 then assembles message packet 402 for transmission back tothe source PC 302. Function block 610 indicates the process of sendingthe message packet 402 back to the source PC 302 over Path "B."

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a flowchart of theinteractive processes between the source PC 302 and the advertiserserver 312. In function block 700, the source PC 302 receives themessage packet 402 back from the ARS 308 and begins to decode the packet402. In function block 702, the URL of the advertiser productinformation is extracted from the message packet 402 and saved forinsertion into the message packet 404 to the advertiser server 312. Themessage packet 404 is then assembled and sent by the source PC 302 overPath "C" to the advertiser server 312, n function block 704. While thesource PC 302 waits, in function block 706, the advertiser server 312receives the message packet 404 from the source PC 302, in functionblock 708, and disassembles it. The product information location is thenextracted from the message packet 404 in function block 710. Theparticular product information is retrieved from the advertiser server312 database for transmission back to the source PC 302. In functionblock 712, the product information is assembled into message packet 406and then transmitted back to the source PC 302 over Path "D." Returningto the source PC 302 in function block 714, the advertiser productinformation contained in the message packet 406 received from theadvertiser server 312, is then extracted and processed in function block716.

Referring now to FIG. 8, after receipt of a trigger signal, a webbrowser application on a source PC 302 is automatically launched andcomputer display 800 presents a browser page 802. Proprietary softwarerunning on the source PC 302 processes the audio signal data after beingdigitized through the sound card 206. The software appropriatelyprepares the data for insertion directly into the web browser byextracting the product information code and appending keystroke data tothis information. First, a URL page 804 is opened in response to aCtrl-O command added by the proprietary software as the first characterstring. Opening URL page 804 automatically positions the cursor in afield 806 where additional keystroke data following the Ctrl-O commandwill be inserted. After URL page 804 is opened, the hypertext protocolpreamble http:// is inserted into the field 806. Next, URL informationassociated with the location of the ARS 308 is inserted into field 806.Following the ARS 308 URL data are the characters /? to allow entry ofvariables immediately following the /? characters. In this embodiment,the variable following is the product information code received in theaudio signal. The product code information also provides thecross-reference information for obtaining the advertiser URL from theARS database 310. Next, a carriage return is added to send theURL/product data and close the window 804. After the message packet 400is transmitted to the ARS 308 from the source PC 302, transactions fromthe ARS 308, to the source PC 302, to the advertiser server 312, andback to the source PC 302, occur quickly and are transparent to theviewer. At this point, the next information the viewer sees is theproduct information which was received from the advertiser server 312.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a block diagram of a moresimplified embodiment. In this embodiment, a video source 902 isprovided which is operable to provide an audio output on an audio cable901 which provides routing information referred to by reference numeral904. The routing information 904 is basically information containedwithin the audio signal. This is an encoded or embedded signal. Theimportant aspect of the routing information 904 is that it isautomatically output in realtime as a function of the broadcast of thevideo program received over the video source 902. Therefore, wheneverthe program is being broadcast in realtime to the user 908, the routinginformation 904 will be output whenever the producer of the videodesires it to be produced. It should be understood that the box 902representing the video source could be any type of media that willresult in the routing information being output. This could be a cassetteplayer, a DVD player, an audio cassette, a CD ROM or any such media. Itis only important that this is a program that the producer developswhich the user 908 watches in a continuous or a streaming manner.Embedded within that program, at a desired point selected by theproducer, the routing information 904 is output.

The audio information is then routed to a PC 906, which is similar tothe PC 112 in FIG. 1. A user 908 is interfaced with the PC to receiveinformation thereof, the PC 906 having associated therewith a display(not shown). The PC 906 is interfaced with a network 910, similar to thenetwork 306 in FIG. 3. This network 910 has multiple nodes thereon, oneof which is the PC 906, and another of which is represented by a networknode 912 which represents remote information. The object of the presentembodiment is to access remote information for display to the user 908by the act of transmitting from the video program in block 902 therouting information 904. This routing information 904 is utilized toallow the PC 906 which has a network "browser" running thereon to"fetch" the remote information at the node 912 over the network 910 fordisplay to the user 908. This routing information 904 is in the form ofan embedded code within the audio signal, as was described hereinabove.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a more detailed blockdiagram of the embodiment of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the PC 906 issplit up into a couple of nodes, a first PC 1002 and a second PC 1004.The PC 1002 resides at the node associated with the user 908, and the PC1004 resides at another node. The PC 1004 represents the ARS 308 of FIG.3. The PC 1004 has a database 1006 associated therewith, which isbasically the advertiser database 310. Therefore, there are three nodeson the network 910 necessary to implement the disclosed embodiment, thePC 1002, the PC 1004 and the remote information node 912. The routinginformation 904 is utilized by the PC 1002 for routing to the PC 1004 todetermine the location of the remote information node 912 on the network910. This is returned to the PC 1002 and a connection made directly withthe remote information node 912 and the information retrieved therefromto the user 908. The routing information 904 basically constitutesprimary routing information.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a diagrammatic view ofhow the network packet is formed for sending the primary routinginformation to the PC 1004. In general, the primary routing informationoccupies a single field which primary routing information is thenassembled into a data packet with the secondary routing information fortransfer to the network 910. This is described hereinabove in detail.

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is illustrated an alternate embodimentto that of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, the video source 902 hasassociated therewith an optical region 1202, which optical region 1202has disposed therein an embedded video code. This embedded video codecould be relatively complex or as simple as a grid of dark and whiteregions, each region in the grid able to have a dark color for a logic"1" or a white region for a logic "0." This will allow a digital valueto be disposed within the optical region 1202. A sensor 1204 can then beprovided for sensing this video code. In the example above, this wouldmerely require an array of optical detectors, one for each region in thegrid to determine whether this is a logic "1" or a logic "0" state. Oneof the sensed video is then output to the PC 906 for processing thereofto determine the information contained therein, which informationcontained therein constitutes the primary routing information 904.Thereafter, it is processed as described hereinabove with reference toFIG. 9.

Referring now to FIG. 13, there is illustrated a block diagram for anembodiment wherein a user's profile can be forwarded to the originalsubscriber or manufacturer. The PC 906 has associated therewith aprofile database 1302, which profile database 1302 is operable to storea profile of the user 908. This profile is created when the program,after initial installation, requests profile information to be input inorder to activate the program. In addition to the profile, there is alsoa unique ID that is provided to the user 908 in association with thebrowser program that runs on the PC 906. This is stored in a storagelocation represented by a block 1304. This ID 1304 is accessible by aremote location as a "cookie" which is information that is stored in thePC 906 in an accessible location, which accessible location is actuallyaccessible by the remote program running on a remote node.

The ARS 308, which basically constitutes the PC 1004 of FIG. 10, isoperable to have associated therewith a profile database 1308, whichprofile database 1308 is operable to store profiles for all of theusers. The profile database 1308 is a combination of the stored inprofile database 1302 for all of the PCs 906 that are attachable to thesystem. This is to be distinguished from information stored in thedatabase 310, the advertiser's database, which contains intermediatedestination tables. When the routing information in the primary routinginformation 904 is forwarded to the ARS 308 and extracted from theoriginal data packet, the look-up procedure described hereinabove canthen be performed to determine where this information is to be routed.The profile database 1302 is then utilized for each transaction, whereineach transaction in the form of the routing information received fromthe primary routing information 904 is compared to the destinationtables 310 to determine what manufacturer it is associated with. Theassociated ID 1304 that is transmitted along with the routinginformation in primary routing information 904 is then compared with theprofile database 1308 to determine if a profile associated therewith isavailable. This information is stored in a transaction database 1310such that, at a later time, for each routing code received in the formof the information in primary routing information 904, there willassociated therewith the IDs 1304 of each of the PCs 906. The associatedprofiles in database 1308, which are stored in association with IDs1304, can then be assembled and transmitted to a subscriber asreferenced by a subscriber node 1312 on the network 910. The ARS 308 cando this in two modes, a realtime mode or a non-realtime mode. In arealtime mode, each time a PC 906 accesses the advertiser database 310,that user's profile information is uploaded to the subscriber node 1312.At the same time, billing information is generated for that subscriber1312 which is stored in a billing database 1316. Therefore, the ARS 308has the ability to inform the subscriber 1312 of each transaction, billfor those transactions, and also provide to the subscriber 1312 profileinformation regarding who is accessing the particular productadvertisement having associated therewith the routing information field904 for a particular routing code as described hereinabove. Thisinformation, once assembled, can then be transmitted to the subscriber1312 and also be reflected in billing information and stored in thebilling information database 1316.

Referring now to FIG. 14, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation for storing the profile for the user. The program is initiatedin a block 1402 and then proceeds to a function block 1404, wherein thesystem will prompt for the profile upon initiation of the system. Thisinitiation is a function that is set to activate whenever the userinitially loads the software that he or she is provided. The purpose forthis is to create, in addition to the setup information, a user profile.Once the user is prompted for this, then the program will flow to adecision block 1406 to determine whether the user provides basic ordetailed information. This is selectable by the user. If selectingbasic, the program will flow to a function block 1408 wherein the userwill enter basic information such as name and serial number and possiblyan address. However, to provide some incentive to the user to enter moreinformation, the original prompt in function block 1404 would haveoffers for such things as coupons, discounts, etc, if the user willenter additional information. If the user selects this option, theprogram from the decision block 1406 to a function block 1410. In thefunction block 1410, the user is prompted to enter specific informationsuch as job, income level, general family history, demographicinformation and more. There can be any amount of information collectedin this particular function block.

Once all of the information is collected, in either the basic mode orthe more specific mode, the program will then flow to a function block1412 where this information is stored locally. The program then flows toa decision block 1414 to then go on-line to the host or the ARS 308. Ingeneral, the user is prompted to determine whether he or she wants tosend this information to the host at the present time or to send itlater. If he or she selects the "later" option, the program will flow toa function block 1415 to prompt the user at a later time to send theinformation. In the disclosed embodiment, the user will not be able toutilize the software until the profile information is sent to the host.Therefore, the user may have to activate this at a later time in orderto connect with the host.

If the user has selected the option to upload the profile information tothe host, the program will flow to the function block 1416 to initiatethe connect process and then to a decision block 1418 to determine ifthe connection has been made. If not, the program will flow along a "N"path to a time to decision block 1420 which will time to an error block1422 or back to the input of the connect decision block 1418. Theprogram, once connected, will then flow along a "Y" path from decisionblock 1418 to a function block 1428 to send the profile information withthe ID of the computer or user to the host. The ID is basically, asdescribed hereinabove, a "cookie" in the computer which is accessed bythe program when transmitting to the host. The program will then flow toa function block 1430 to activate the program such that it, at latertime, can operate without requiring all of the set up information. Ingeneral, all of the operation of this flowchart is performed with a"wizard" which steps the user through the setup process. Once complete,the program will flow to a Done block 1432.

Referring now to FIG. 15, there is illustrated a flowchart depicting theoperation of the host when receiving a transaction. The program isinitiated at a start block 1502 and then proceeds to decision block1504, wherein it is determined whether the system has received a routingrequest, i.e., the routing information 904 in the form of a tone, etc.,embedded in the audio signal as described hereinabove with respect toFIG. 9. The program will loop back around to the input of decision block1504 until the routing request has been received. At this time, theprogram will flow along the "Y" path to a function block 1506 to receivethe primary routing information and the user ID. Essentially, thisprimary routing information is extracted from the audio tone, inaddition to the user ID. The program then flows to a function block 1508to look up the manufacturer URL that corresponds to the received primaryrouting information and then return the necessary command information tothe originating PC 108 in order to allow that PC to connect to thedestination associated with the primary routing information. Thereafter,the program will flow to a function block 1510 to update the transactiondatabase 1310 for the current transaction. In general, the routinginformation 904 will be stored as a single field with the associatedIDs. The profile database, as described hereinabove, has associatedtherewith detailed profiles of each user on the system that hasactivated their software in association with their ID. Since the ID wassent in association with the routing information, what is stored in thetransaction database is the routing code, in association with all of theIDs transmitted to the system in association with that particularrouting code. Once this transaction database has been updated, asdescribed hereinabove, the transactions can be transferred back to thesubscriber at node 312 with the detailed profile information from theprofile database 1308.

The profile information can be transmitted back to the subscriber ormanufacturer in the node 312 in realtime or non-realtime. A decisionblock 1512 is provided for this, which determines if the delivery isrealtime. If realtime, the program will flow along a "Y" path to afunction block 1514 wherein the information will be immediatelyforwarded to the manufacturer or subscriber. The program will then flowto a function block 1516 wherein the billing for that particularmanufacturer or subscriber will be updated in the billing database 1316.The program will then flow into an End block 1518. If it wasnon-realtime, the program moves along the "N" path to a function block1520 wherein it is set for a later delivery and it is accrued in thetransaction database. In any event, the transaction database will accrueall information associated with a particular routing code.

With a realtime transaction, it is possible for a manufacturer to placean ad in a magazine or to place a product on a shelf at a particulartime. The manufacturer can thereafter monitor the times when either theads are or the products are purchased. Of course, they must be scannedinto a computer which will provide some delay. However, the manufacturercan gain a very current view of how a product is moving. For example, ifa cola manufacturer were to provide a promotional advertisement on, forexample, television, indicating that a new cola was going to be placedon the shelf and that the first 1000 purchasers, for example, scanningtheir code into the network would receive some benefit, such as a chanceto win a trip to some famous resort in Florida or some other incentive,the manufacturer would have a very good idea as to how well theadvertisement was received. Further, the advertiser would know where thereceptive markets were. If this advertiser, for example, had placed thetelevision advertisement in ten cities and received overwhelmingresponse from one city, but very poor response from another city, hewould then have some inclination to believe that either one poorresponse city was not a good market or that the advertising medium hehad chosen was very poor. Since the advertiser can obtain a relativelyinstant response and also content with that response as to thedemographics of the responder, very important information can beobtained in a relatively short time.

It should be noted that the disclosed embodiment is not limited to asingle source PC 302, but may encompass a large number of sourcecomputers connected over a global communication network. Additionally,the embodiment is not limited to a single ARS 308 or a single advertiserserver 312, but may include a plurality of ARS and advertiser systems,indicated by the addition of ARS 314 and advertiser server A 316,respectively. It should also be noted that this embodiment is notlimited only to global communication networks, but also may be used withLAN, WAN, and peer-to-peer configurations.

It should also be noted that the disclosed embodiment is not limited toa personal computer, but is also applicable to, for example, a NetworkComputer ("NetPC"), a scaled-down version of the PC, or any system whichaccommodates user interaction and interfaces to information resources.

One typical application of the above noted technique is for providing atriggering event during a program, such as a sport event. In a firstexample, this may be generated by an advertiser. One could imagine that,due to the cost of advertisements in a high profile sports program,there is a desire to utilize this time widely. If, for example, anadvertiser contracted for 15 seconds worth of advertising time, theycould insert within their program a tone containing the routinginformation. This routing information can then be output to the user'sPC which will cause the user's PC to, via the network, obtaininformation from a remote location typically controlled by theadvertiser. This could be in the form of an advertisement of a lengthlonger than that contracted for. Further, this could be an interactivetype of advertisement. An important aspect to the type of interactionbetween the actual broadcast program with the embedded routinginformation and the manufacturer's site is the fact that there isprovided in the information as to the user's PC and a profile of theuser themselves. Therefore, an advertiser can actually gain realtimeinformation as to the number of individuals that are watching theirparticular advertisement and also information as to the background ofthose individuals, demographic information, etc. This can be a veryvaluable asset to an advertiser.

In another example, the producer of the program, whether it be an on-airprogram, a program embedded in a video tape, CD-ROM, DVD, or a cassette,can allow the user to automatically access additional information thatis not displayed on the screen. For example, in a sporting event,various statistics can be provided to the user from a remote location,merely by the viewer watching the program. When these statistics areprovided, the advertiser can be provided with demographic informationand background information regarding the user. This can be importantwhen, for example, the user may record a sports program. If themanufacturer sees that this program routing code is being output fromsome device at a later time than the actual broadcast itself, thisallows the advertisers to actually see that their program is still beingused and also what type of individual is using it. Alternatively, thebroadcaster could determine the same and actually bill the advertiser anadditional sum for a later broadcast. This is all due to the fact thatthe routing information automatically, through a PC and a network, willprovide an indication to the advertiser for other intermediary regardingthe time at which the actual information was broadcast.

The different type of medium that can be utilized with the aboveembodiment are such things as advertisements, which are discussedhereinabove, contests, games, news programs, education, couponpromotional programs, demonstration media (demos), photographs, all ofwhich can be broadcast on a private site or a public site. This all willprovide the ability to allow realtime interface with the network and theremote location for obtaining the routed information and also allow forrealtime billing and accounting.

Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, itshould be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterationscan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling a computer disposed at auser location on a network, comprising the steps of:inputting an analogsignal at the user location on the network, the analog signal comprisinga commerce identifier, which commerce identifier has an association withinformation disposed on a remote information provider location on thenetwork; in response to the step of inputting;appending routinginformation to the commerce identifier, which routing informationdefines the location of the remote information provider location on thenetwork; creating a link between the user location and the remoteinformation provider location over the network in accordance with theappended routing information, which routing information defines thenetwork connection between the user location and the remote location onthe network; and transmitting the commerce identifier from the userlocation to the remote information provider location over the networkutilizing the created link, wherein the information associated with thecommerce identifier can be returned to the user location from the remoteinformation provider location.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theanalog signal is input to a sound card on the computer.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of appending routing information comprises thesteps of:providing a database of routing information at a secondarylocation on the network which provides an association between apredetermined commerce identifier and a predefined remote informationprovider location on the network, there being a plurality of suchrouting information stored in the database; transmitting to thesecondary location on the network the commerce identifier; accessing thedatabase in response to receiving at the secondary location atransmitted commerce identifier from the user location; comparing thereceived commerce identifier with the stored routing information in thedatabase; if there is a match between the received commerce identifierand any of the stored routing information, transmitting the matchingrouting information back to the user location; and at the user location,in response to receiving the matching routing information, appending thematching routing information to the commerce identifier.
 4. The methodof claim 3, and further comprising the step of displaying the receivedinformation from the remote information provider location.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the network is a global communication network thatprovides a universal resource locator (URL) for each remote informationprovider location on the network and the routing information iscomprised of the URL for the remote information provider location. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the appended routing information in thestep of appending includes instructional information as to how theremote information provider location is to process the transmittedcommerce identifier.
 7. A method for retrieving information from astorage region having a defined information provider location on anetwork, comprising the steps of:broadcasting a program having embeddedtherein an encoded signal having unique identifier information containedtherein, wherein the unique identifier has an association with thelocation on the network of the storage region; extracting the encodedsignal from the broadcast; and controlling a personal computer for auser at a user location on the network in response to the step ofextracting to connect to the storage region on the network and retrieveinformation from the storage region at the defined location thereof onthe network, which defined location is located with the extractedencoded signal, and providing it at the personal computer for use by theuser.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the personal computer has adisplay associated therewith, wherein the retrieved information isdisplayed on the display.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein thebroadcast program is a video program.
 10. The method of claim 7, whereinthe broadcast program is an audio program.
 11. The method of claim 7,wherein the encoded signal comprises an audio signal and wherein thestep of extracting comprises decoding the unique identifier informationin the audio signal by the personal computer.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the broadcast program is a video program.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the broadcast program is an audio program.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the step of extracting routing informationcomprises connecting the video source to the personal computer with acable which carries at least audio information, the personal computerthen decoding from the audio information in the step of extracting theunique identifier information from the encoded signal.
 15. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the encoded signal is a video signal and the broadcastprogram is a video program and the step of extracting comprisesextracting the unique identifier information from the video encodedsignal.
 16. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage region isdisposed on a remote information provider location on the network, andthe step of controlling comprises:transferring the extracted uniqueidentifier information to an intermediate node on the network; storingat the intermediate node on the network lookup information associatedwith the location of the storage region on the network with the uniqueidentifier information, such that the unique identifier information isassociated with the location of the storage region on the network;looking up at the intermediate node the associated location of thestorage region for the received unique identifier information andreturning the location information to the personal computer; and thestep of controlling using the returned location information to retrieveinformation from the storage region at the defined remote informationprovider location on the network.
 17. The method of claim 16 and furthercomprising the step of storing at the intermediate node profileinformation associated with the user of the personal computer andstoring at the personal computer identification information associatedwith the profile information at the intermediate node and furthercomprising the step of transmitting the identification information tothe intermediate node when transmitting the unique identifierinformation thereto.
 18. The method of claim 17, and further comprisingthe step of transmitting profile information from the intermediate nodeto the personal computer with the returned routing information, suchthat profile information is transmitted with the unique identifierinformation from the personal computer to the defined location on thenetwork.